Making Every Day Earth Day

Conserving energy in our everyday lives can be as simple as unplugging appliances at home that are seldom used. Here are 9 useful tips to green-ify your home.

1. Low Flow Shower Heads - Almost half of home water use is for showering and baths. Since January 1995, showerheads in new homes have been required to dispense 2.5 gallons per minute. If you have an older showerhead in your home, replacing it is a quick, inexpensive and easy way to conserve water and save dollars. A low flow shower head could reduce your shower water use by more than three gallons per minute (compared to an older model which allows 6 gallons per minute). A modern flow-rate standard showerhead costs as little as $10-$25. Even if you do not pay your own water bills, you still have to pay to heat the water you use, so this would save you dollars as well as savings our planets most precious natural resource - Water.

2. Faucet Aerators - Supplied with new faucets or installed as an inexpensive retrofit to older faucets, aerators can reduce flow rate from 3.5-5 gallons per minute to .5-1 gallon per minute in bathrooms, and 1-2 gallons per minute at the kitchen sink. Faucet Aerators at air to the water stream at the faucet's tip - the flows seems the same but the actual volume is significantly decreased, which also helps you to reduce the cost of heating water.

3. Save Energy By Washing Your Laundry in Cold Water Only - Almost all of the energy used by a washing machine goes towards heating the water, so by simply turning down the temperature, you can really make a dramatic impact on energy use. In fact, washing in cold water costs 5 to 10 times less than using warmer settings. (a)

4. Unplug seldom- used appliances - "Even when switched to "off," most of the appliances and electronics in your home continue drawing a little bit of power as long as they remain plugged in. It has been estimated that the average home has 40 such devices that draw power 24 hours a day." (b) This power is known as Phantom Power. Unplugging phone and laptop chargers, which are not in use, is a great place to start. When you leave the house, especially if you are away for more than a day, unplug your large appliances, TVs and computers. Also, if you have to leave your computer on when you are not at your workspace, consider shutting of your monitor instead of using a screen saver.

These savings can really add up. Make a game of it - Show your children the utility bills (or just the rates of consumption) and challenge the family to make changes. Try comparing newer utility bills to those from before you started and watch the impact your new behaviors are having.

5. Replace lights with compact fluorescent bulbs - "If every American home replaced just one light with an Energy Star CFL, we could save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, about $700 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars." (c) Compact fluorescent bulbs may cost more upfront, but the longer life of the bulbs, combined with the more efficient energy transfer, can add up to big savings over time.

A60-watt incandescent bulb emits the same amount of light as a 15-watt compact fluorescent. CFLs also last about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

6. Save Waste and Water By Switching From Bottled to Filtered Water - The bottled water industry is extremely wasteful. It involves millions of barrels of oil each year and the process actually wastes water. Since bottled water is often consumed on the go, most bottles do not actually end up getting recycled. Fortunately, for most of us reading this article, water flows directly into our homes -- an amazing gift when you consider all of the places in the world where that is not the case. So why not get yourself a filter and a reusable bottle and fill up from the cheapest and most convenient place -- your faucet. (d)

7. Plant a "Strategic Tree" - Landscaping is a natural way to shade your home. Well-placed trees and shrubs not only save on air conditioning costs, but can add value to your property, too.

8. Start a Backyard Compost Pile - Composting is a great way to keep organic waste out of landfills, while lowering gas emissions associated with waste management. It's fun, easy and saves money in garbage disposal, fertilizers, mulch and soil! Follow this link for information on how to Start a Compost Pile Download File

9. Recycle - Did you take the cap off your plastic jugs and bottles? Did you rinse out your tin cans? How about flattening and cutting down your oversized corrugated cardboard? And what about all that junk mail; did you throw it in your green bin instead of in the trash? Check out what should be in your Green and Blue bins Download File- and talk to your kids - challenge them to double check all the items in the recycling bins (and clean trash) items to make sure everything is in its place.

(a) http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-5-household-tips-for-earth-day.html#ixzz1JQ6rVrUh
(b) http://www.seekinggreener.com/tips/5-earthday-living-tips/
(c) http://www.seekinggreener.com/tips/5-earthday-living-tips/
(d) http://www.care2.com/greenliving/top-5-household-tips-for-earth-day.html...